I have said time and again that this great Nation is in the bleak of tribal hatred inspired to Kenyans by tribal chiefs, sons and daughters of post colonial Kenya who squarely benefited from the corrupt White regime, Kenyatta regime, Moi regime and now the impunity infested Kibaki Government. The infightings in the Coalition Government remind me about the Rat race. The rat race is not only interesting, tragic and unfortunate but casts out the reality our leaders must swallow, “Even if you win in a rat race….. You are still a rat…!” That is the simplest you can define this selfish ruling class.
Over the last few weeks, we have witnessed uncalled for political bickering as the two principals and their erstwhile supporters engage in a war of word that has literally convinced any serious investor that Kenya is not the best of places to pitch tent. Kibaki in his quest to show leadership in an emotional press statement reassured Kenyans that he acted within the law in the disputed nominations even when the country had already read mischief in the manner his lieutenants handled and reacted over the entire process- he has withdrawn the nominations since. Just to remind you, we have been witnessing a political crisis hung around the two principals for a long time ever since this man Ocampo released the list of suspected masterminds of the post election violence that left tens of hundredths of people dead and many hundredths of thousands homeless.
Look at this again, ‘you are the Suspect, the Police, the Prosecutor, the Judge and the Executor’: then we must be in a rogue country where we might possibly never witness justice in our times or in the times of many of our generations to come. Shifting to the more serious business of governance and political leadership laying bare with the two principals, Kenyans must speak in one voice and oppose the idea of the destiny of this country be defined and determined in a boardroom by the two Principals or their cronies. In context and within the precincts of the new law, Kibaki & Raila have no moral authority whatsoever to impose on Kenyans any office holder, whether constitutional or otherwise. If the incidents of 2007 elections are to be prevented, we must embrace and implement this constitution fully and within all the legal frameworks applicable therein.
The two principals should not limit their efforts to successfully implement the new law to public forums and public statements. Indeed, they should have realized and recognized long ago that bitter differences in the level of consultations cannot be settled in a public forum. That is why in addition to the public statements and negotiations, they have to explore every possible private avenue that might lead to a settlement on this matter but purely pegged on the legality of the entire nomination process. In that case, Kenyans shall have a reason to smile to a new dawn of reforms; that has eroded us for so long. No one shall have the fears of the courts, police, legislature or any arm of Government.
It has been difficult for our leaders to communicate meaningfully across this war of words, But precisely because of lack of political goodwill to implement the constitution in its entirety. The president and the prime minister should reaffirm in all solemnity their desire to work for a just and speedy implementation of the new law. This shall be possible if only the selfish egos of their cronies are trashed away and sense of realism planted in the mindsets of our leaders. The two have witnessed the politics of this Nation than most of us and have been in the realms of power for many years. They saw JM die, Pinto Gama, Tom Mboya, Robert Ouko, Farther Kaiser, Oscar, Bishop Muge; etc. They have also witnessed Matiba, Njoya, Shikuku, Gatabaki, Anyang’ Nyong’o, George Anyona, Raila, and many more proponents of reforms in the 80’s and 90’s when Moi was cracking down on the voice of voiceless. I deeply believe that these two leaders shall one day pay dearly if they allowed the interests of a few people who have benefited from impunity, corruption, and nepotism from time immemorial determine the destiny of this nation during this transitional period.
Let history record that at this critical juncture both sides turned their face toward “justice rather than towards impunity and injustices." It may be hard to face the reality, but it is the right way. In speaking of the consequences of a precipitous withdrawal from talks and proper implementation of the new law, Kenyans shall lose confidence with the entire process and it shall not be business as usual. Far more dangerous, we would lose confidence in ourselves as a nation and incidents similar to those of post election violence shall be inevitable, now and in future. The consequences of what our leaders shall have done, inevitable remorse and divisive recrimination would scar our spirit as a people.
We have faced other crises in our history and we have become stronger by rejecting the easy way out and taking the right way in meeting our challenges. Our greatness as a nation has been our capacity to do what has to be done when we knew our course was right. Let us all submerge our differences and realize that it is best for us to first see that we have the same problem, a common problem, a problem that will make you catch hell whether you're. Whether you're educated or illiterate, whether you live in Muthaiga or in the alleys of Kibera, you're going to catch hell just like me. We're all in the same boat and we all are going to catch the same hell from the same pan- Impunity!
Kenyans in their usual optimism passed the new law to simply guard themselves and their generations to come from political oppression, economic exploitation, and social degradation at the hands of a few greedy politicians whom are a ‘know everything’ and will poke their noses anywhere they read a survival tact for themselves and their many sycophants.
Let historians not record that, when Kibaki and Raila were the most powerful men, we passed on the other side of the road and allowed the last hopes for political, economical and social empowerment of millions of Kenyans be suffocated by the forces of totalitarianism. This is the time for all of us to take the boat, even if we can walk on water.
The great ‘silent majority’ of our time spoke at the referendum, and the ruling class has little to do than lead us to the other side of the new constitutional dispensation. Needless to say, if they did or behaved in anything short of that, then the scenes we have witnessed in parts of Arab world might be a reality here at home. I once again remind them that the trouble with the rat race is that……even if you win the race; you are still a rat! God bless Kenya.
Author:
MWANGI S. MUTHIORA; is a Projects Manager by profession. He is an MP in the National Youth Parliament of Kenya He is a poet and a blogger with an allay of interesting political articles and poems most of them published on his Official Blog called Two Hours Before and reviewed widely across the world. He is an ardent participant of WHYS (World Have Your Say) on BBC among other International Human Rights platforms.
He is an aspirant in the forthcoming National Youth Council elections to be held next month.
Read about the Author on the February issue of Parents Magazine 2010 and read his untold story. Also Join Two Hours Before on facebook and twitter. NOTE: Two Hours Before is the fastest growing poetry blog in the country with over 27,000 visits and several reputable Reviews across the world.
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